Denmark recorded its highest temperature on record on Saturday, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) said.
Around 2:00 pm (1200 GMT), DMI said in a post to X that "with 36.6C north of Odense, we have the warmest day ever since measurements began in 1874,"
With a sense of foreboding, it noted "the day isn't over yet..."
"The record lasted exactly one hour," DMI said in a later post.
"Now 37.0C has been measured at Odum north of Aarhus. And counting..."
The previous record temperature in the Scandinavian country was 36.4C which was recorded in August 1975, according to DMI.
DMI had warned that the record could be broken as a heatwave swept over the Scandinavian country, with media showing images of Danes around the country trying to cool off at beaches or along docks in the cities.
The record coincided with the opening of the Roskilde music festival, and one attendant told public broadcaster DR that dragging his luggage to the campsite was "unbearable".
DR reported that the festival had set up water stations for the some 50,000 festival attendees.
Peter Tanev, meteorologist for broadcaster TV2, noted that for years scientists had anticipated that the record would be broken.
"We've been aware that the risk would be there -- among other things because of global warming," Tanev said in a comment.
"The question right now is, how long will this record stand. It's probably only a matter of time before we reach 40 degrees in Denmark," Tanev wrote.
In neighboring Sweden, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) also warned that temperatures in the south of Sweden could reach 36C or 37C in some places.
